November Rain
by A Fearless Knight's Fairytale
Summary: The night she killed him telekinetic Zoe Findley knew she had to leave. She was alone, miserable, a killer. She didn't deserve love or kindness, she was cursed. After moving to Xavier's school and discovering other extraordinary people like herself, will she change her mind? And what will her undeniable curiosity for one of the other students bring? Rated M for later chapters. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, this is my first fanfiction so please let me know what you think! Enjoy.**

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The sound of rain softly pelting down on the open window filled the room. An earthy, refreshing scent working its way towards the girl sleeping soundly on her violet bedspread laid out on the floor, her hand still grasping the book she had been reading. Lightning cracked across the sky in the distance, promptly illuminating the entire room and causing the girl to awake from her peaceful sleep, startled.

She stood up, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and crept towards the bedroom door. Her hand was just reaching out for the handle when her eyes flickered towards the shadow that had appeared outside the door.

_Mom and Dad are home already? _She thought to herself as she slowly retracted her hand and backed away from the door.

Whoever was on the other side of the door pulled down on the handle and panic rose in the girl's chest, her heart immediately jumping to her throat. She dropped to the floor, pressing herself against the loveseat placed just opposite the door. Hearing the door open slowly she clasped the silver chain around her delicate neck and began to fiddle with the emerald coloured stone attached.

Footsteps grew closer and closer until she could hear the heavy breathing of the intruder from the other side of the seat. Suddenly a hand reached from over the top of her hiding place and pulled on her shoulder, bringing her up to a standing position. She immediately tried to escape the intruder's grasp, thrashing about and screaming at the top of her lungs. Her attention turned to a heavy ornament in the shape of a roaring lion on the nearest bookshelf and willed it to fly across the room towards her attacker.

"Zoe, no!" a male voice called out in panic. She felt his grasp slip as a loud crack echoed throughout the room. The ornament must've hit him, and upon turning around this was confirmed.

A young boy around the age of 18 was lying unconscious on the floor, blood spilling from his head forming a crimson puddle on the sandy carpet.

"Ethan! No, please wake up!" Zoe fell to the floor moving her hands to her brother's head and cradling it gently in her lap. "Please... I-I didn't know" she whispered. As the realisation of what she had done dawned on her, Zoe crawled away from the body of her brother lying on the floor. Whilst she staggered to her feet a variation of thoughts crossed her mind, a voice in her head told her she didn't deserve to live for this; that she should kill herself. The most terrifying thing about it was that it was her own voice, and she had always trusted herself, if no one else.

Somehow she had made it to the bathroom across the hall from the bedroom where her brother was. Zoe stared at herself intently in the mirror, fear crossing her dark brown eyes as she noticed the blood smeared across her arms and torso. There was a streak of the deep red liquid beginning to dry in her hair, she pulled at it; disgusted with the sight of herself.

The sound of the front door unlocking and laughter filling the hall caused her to tear her eyes away from her own disturbing reflection. Her parents had arrived home giving Zoe five minutes, tops, to pack her things and leave before they could discover their sweet daughter covered in her own brother's blood.

She fled back to her bedroom where Ethan was still lying motionless on the floor and removed the white nightdress now smothered with drying blood, tossing it on the loveseat beside her. Zoe flung open the wardrobe and pulled on a short, floral patterned button down dress and her black lace up biker boots. She grabbed the navy duffle bag from the corner of her wardrobe and stuffed it with whatever clothes she could see as well as her purse and a couple of granola bars she had on the bed spread laid out on the floor.

The sound of her parents climbing the stairs made Zoe panic as she pulled on her black leather jacket; stepping over her brother's corpse towards the window. Holding onto the window pane she slung the duffle bag over her shoulder and swung her leg over the ledge on to the roof of their front porch.

"I'm so sorry" she whispered as tears began to sting her eyes and spill out onto her cheeks. She finally pulled her other leg from the room and jumped down from the porch, her boots hitting the puddles that had formed on the driveway.

It was still pouring with rain as Zoe ran into the fields leading to the forest directly across from her house. Lightning flashed across the cloud filled sky and was shortly followed by the low rumbling sound of thunder as the rain intensified.

Zoe continued to run until she felt she was deep enough into the forest. She came to an abrupt stop and leaned against a tree for support, her breathing ragged and a combination of sweat, tears and rain dripped from her face. She knew the town centre was just minutes ahead of her. She'd be able to get a bus there; she could run away and know she wouldn't cause anyone else any harm.

_If only I'd done that before tonight, before I murdered my own brother..._A cry escaped her mouth as new tears began to form and run down her soaked face. She took a deep breath and continued to run in the direction of the town.

Just as she reached the bus station she spotted a bus to New York and immediately removed her purse from her duffle bag. As she looked down to search through her purse she noticed the rain had washed off a large majority of the blood that had covered her arms just minutes ago.

She walked towards the ticket machine and bought a one-way ticket for the first bus to Westchester County, New York. After purchasing the ticket she placed her change back into her purse and turned her attention back to the bus she had spotted as she came in. The driver was climbing on and preparing to leave.

"No, wait! Hang on, I have a ticket!" She yelled, waving her ticket in the air and running towards the bus. Luckily the driver noticed, allowing her to clamber onto the bus and giving her a warm smile.

"Make sure ta make yerself comfortable, we got a long journey." He smiled at her, his Southern accent noticeable.

"Thanks. I will." Zoe tried her best to smile back at him only managing to lift a corner of her mouth.

As she settled down into her seat she pulled out her iPod, placing the earphones in her ears she pressed play and leaned her head against the window. She watched as the rain slowly trickled down and she lifted her hand, willing the droplets to follow the pattern she was making with her hand. Soon she fell into a deep slumber and her mind was plagued with the terrifying reflection she had seen of herself in the mirror, covered in her brother's blood.

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**AN: Sorry this chapter was quite short, hopefully I should be writing more and don't worry, we shall see our beloved X-Men soon! (:**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to update this chapter, enjoy!**

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It felt like an eternity before Zoe was woken up by the driver gently shaking her shoulder.

"Uhh, excuse me, miss. We've arrived" he said in a low voice, as not to startle her.

"Oh, ok. Thanks." Zoe squinted in the daylight and slung her duffle bag over her shoulder. She climbed out of her seat and made her way down the aisle of the bus.

As she stepped outside into the cool breeze she noticed parts of her dress were still damp from being out in the rain the night before. Thinking back to it sent a shiver down her spine and she bit down on her lip to prevent any more tears from falling.

Zoe began to walk, completely unsure of where it was that she was going. She kept her head down and it wasn't long before a loud growling from her stomach forced her to stop and look around for a place to sit. Luckily she had been walking in the direction of a park and she made her way over to the nearest bench.

She took a seat and pulled out the granola bars she had previously taken from her room. As she munched on them quietly she took in her surroundings.

Zoe's family hadn't been particularly rich, but they had enough money to get them by and take the occasional holiday. She never thought she'd see herself in an area quite like this one. Mansions and houses of huge proportions stood proudly in the distance, surrounded by perfectly manicured lawns.

Devouring the last piece of her small lunch Zoe got to her feet and walked in the direction of the supermarket she'd spotted just to the left of the mansions.

The November wind blew softly and Zoe combed her fingers through her long brunette locks, noticing just how dirty her hair had gotten due to the sweat and rain she'd endured last night.

_Let's hope this place has a bathroom._ She thought silently as she walked through the automatic doors to the shop.

She didn't bother picking up a basket and simply found her own way to the aisle stocked with shampoos and conditioners. She picked up a coconut scented bottle of shampoo and paced around the shop slowly, picking up a bar of chocolate and a couple of apples.

As she placed her items down on the front desk the burly man serving her looked her up and down.

"Will that be all, kid?" he asked; a concerned look across his face. Did she really look that awful?

"Uhh, yeah, that's it." Zoe smiled, trying her best to reassure him.

As she handed him the money and walked away, stuffing her purchases into her bag, she caught sight of her reflection in the window. She was covered head to toe in blood. It was dripping off her, the whites of her eyes standing out against the deep red that smothered her skin.

She let out a small gasp and her hand flew up to her mouth in shock as she stifled a cry. Zoe immediately turned on her heel and walked down an aisle selling hair dye, unable to remove the reflection of herself from her mind.

She grabbed the first box of hair bleach she came across and walked quickly past the cash register, throwing the correct amount of change onto the desk and following the sign pointing to the bathrooms.

Upon opening the bathroom door Zoe spotted a row of sinks, each with a mirror placed above them.

She dumped her bag onto the floor and pushed the door closed; locking it just to make sure no one could walk in and freak out at the sight of her. She headed over to one of the sinks and removed the hair bleach from its box, taking barely any notice of the instructions.

Zoe stared at the bottle of bleach in her hand and squeezed her eyes shut.

_Come on, just open your eyes. Just do it already. _She willed herself as she peered out of one eye at her own reflection in the mirror. She let out a sigh of relief as a perfectly normal looking Zoe stared back at her, minus the greasy hair and bloodshot eyes.

As she looked more closely she noticed there was still a fair amount of dried blood crusting over a streak of hair near to the front of her head on the right side.

Images of her brother flashed across her mind causing her to squeeze her eyes closed again.

_Get on with it before someone gets suspicious. _She opened her eyes once again and emptied the contents of the bottle onto the blood streaked section of hair, the chemicals making her eyes sting and began to water.

After applying the whole bottle, Zoe sat on the floor, leaning her head against the wall.

_What am I going to do when I get out of here? Where am I going to go? I have no one... maybe it's for the best- maybe I just shouldn't be around people... _She let out a deep sigh as a possible future life of loneliness consumed her thoughts.

Zoe sat in the bathroom for a while, forgetting about the bleach currently removing the last of the blood from her and hopefully changing her appearance a little in the process.

A knock on the door several moments later pulled her from her thoughts.

"Yeah?" She questioned, not entirely sure what to say.

"You've been in there an awful long time, you doing alright?" It was the voice of the burly man who had served her earlier; he was just here to check up on her.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute!" She called reassuringly and heard him walk away from the bathroom door.

Turning back to the sink, Zoe filled it with hot water and proceeded to scrub at her hair, applying the shampoo she had in her duffle bag.

_Damn, no towel... _She though as she chewed on her bottom lip and searched the bathroom for something else to dry her hair with. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a dark green hoodie.

"Guess this'll just have to do." She sighed, using the make-shift towel to dry her hair as much as possible before shoving it back into her back.

Zoe walked towards one of the mirrors and looked herself over again, moving her long fringe over to the left and tucking it behind her ear; the newly blonde streak on her right standing out against the dark brunette tones of the rest of her hair.

"Well, it's better than blood." She whispered, biting down on her tongue to prevent bile from rising up in her throat at the thought of it.

Unlocking the door, bag on her shoulder, Zoe exited the bathroom leaving the used bottle of bleach behind.

"Thanks." She murmured whilst walking past the cash register and walked out of the supermarket, unsure of where to go next. The burly guy nodded in her direction and went back to reading his newspaper.

* * *

Storm ushered the children from one exhibit to another, often taking a moment to lecture them on the different areas of science they would be studying in class.

As she moved them along they came to an exhibit on mutations of the human body. The children stared with horrified expressions at the illustrations and photographs of what was referred to as 'hideously deformed mutants'. They were clearly described as a different species, they weren't considered normal here.

"Come on, kids. Let's go." Storm gestured to the entrance of another exhibit and followed along behind the children, trying to cover up her own discomfort brought on by being referred to as a deformed mutant.

"Storm" She turned to see her friend, Dr. Jean Grey, standing with Scott "Everything okay?"

"Uhh, yeah. How was the medical exhibit?" Storm asked, deciding to keep her previous experience to herself.

"The kids liked it. Scott was bored" Jean laughed.

"It was boring." Scott replied.

Jean rolled her eyes at him whilst Storm looked around at the children, distracted.

"Jean, where are the others?" She turned to face her red-headed friend after doing a quick head count. A few of the students seemed to have run off.

Jean sighed and the three of them gathered the children together before setting off in search of the missing students.

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Zoe was proud of herself for finding the way to the science museum. It was an odd place to go when you're running away from home after murdering your own brother, but it was one of the few places she knew she'd feel safe. She'd always enjoyed visiting museums, or anywhere she could learn something new for that matter.

She wandered around the exhibits, carefully studying each one and picking up on anything she found to be interesting until she came to the entrance of the cafeteria.

Zoe pulled out the map she'd been handed upon entering the museum.

_Okay, so I just carry on through the cafeteria and I should reach the exhibit on space shuttles... I don't think there's ever gonna be a time when I don't find these things exciting._ Zoe thought to herself. She sighed and shook her head lightly, already fed up with her own thoughts.

As Zoe made her way through the cafeteria, she noticed a group of teenagers around her age sitting at a table. They appeared to be having some sort of disagreement with two boys standing just in front of them, from what Zoe could hear.

"I'll ask one more time." The taller of the two said through gritted teeth. "Do...you...have...a...light?"

One of the guys sitting at the table in front of them flicked his lighter, looking as if he was deep in thought.

"Sorry, pal. Can't help ya." A cocky grin spreading across his face that Zoe couldn't help but smile along with. Not because she thought he was attractive, although there was certainly something about him that made him seem more... appealing to her. His dark hair was slicked back and he was wearing a leather jacket, giving him the bad boy look that most girls drooled over.

Zoe saw the girl sitting next to him with white streaked through the front of her dark brown hair lean over and whisper something, causing another boy at the table with piercing blue eyes to say something.

"John, Please"

By this time Zoe had stopped walking and was watching the confrontation intently. She wasn't the only one, there appeared to be quite a crowd gathering and watching from a distance.

"Sorry, guys. Besides the fact that this is clearly marked as a non-smoking environment, I couldn't bear knowing that I contributed to this young man's slow, tumour-ridden death." The guy with the lighter, who Zoe now knew as John, continued to smirk as the two teens standing over him took in what he'd just said to them.

Just as he flicked his lighter closed, one of them snatches it from his grasp and lights a cigarette he'd been holding in his hand.

John's smirk faded quickly as he jumped from his seat and tried to take back his lighter, but the other guy's friend moves in front of him, blocking his path.

"What are you gonna do? Not so tough anymore, are you?" He laughed slightly as his friend leaned over his shoulder and blew smoke into John's face.

John stepped back lightly, a smirk growing on his face as he looked down at the floor and back up at the two teens in front of him. Zoe watched as his eyes narrowed slightly and all of a sudden the glowing embers at the end of the boys' cigarette grew into a great flame which wrapped itself around his arm, setting fire to his jacket sleeve.

Screams filled the cafeteria, not only from the boy trying to put out the fire now reaching up to his bare neck, but also from passersby in the surrounding area. Zoe pulled her eyes away from the scene in front of her and moved quickly over to a row of trees that had been planted in pots just near enough to the group of teens now exposed as mutants, but not near enough so they could see her.

John was laughing at the boy flailing around on the floor before him, his friend in just as much of a panic.

Zoe noticed his friend stand up hurriedly, his bright blue eyes darting back and forth between John and the boy on the floor who was slowly becoming engulfed in flames. He reached his arm forwards and produced a stream of frost from his hand which he sent towards the teen, putting out the fire.

Zoe gasped in awe. She'd never seen mutants out themselves like this before. In fact, that only time she'd ever seen it was when they'd been reported for killing humans on the news.

_I guess I'm one of those mutants now. I'm not even like those guys and they're pretty different. _She thought, lowering her eyes to her hands where she ripped up a leaf she torn from the tree in front of her.

All of a sudden any noise that had been coming from the cafeteria and surrounding areas came to a halt and tore Zoe from her thoughts. She glanced upwards at the motionless people around her, noting that John and his friends weren't entirely sure what was going on either.

"The next time you feel like showing off... don't" A deep male voice declared, and Zoe turned to see a slim, bald man entering the cafeteria in a wheelchair. Following him were a few adults who seemed to be guiding a large group of students.

Suddenly all eyes were on the television mounted on a nearby wall as footage of the White House surrounded by army troops flashed across the screen. It was a report on a mutant attempting to assassinate the president, and upon hearing the news the only moving people in the cafeteria looked horrified.

"Okay, I definitely need to get out of here, this is way too much" Zoe muttered to herself as she stood up and turned around, only to come face to face with a security guard who must have been reaching out for her before he was frozen.

Zoe let out a small squeal and fell back against the plant pot, drawing everyone's attention to her hiding place.

"Ahh, I wondered when you were going to make yourself known" said the man in the wheelchair. "My name is Charles Xavier, don't worry, child. We won't hurt you."

Zoe pulled herself up again, peering round the plant pots. He sounded kind and genuine; maybe she could trust these guys, it's not like she had anyone else to talk to.

"Uhh.. Hey. Umm, M-my name's... Zoe" she stuttered, she'd never much been one for talking; especially to complete strangers. She'd just never felt as if she had something good enough to say.

"I know. I also know why you're here and I want you to understand that I can help. _We _can help." He smiled, gesturing to the team of adults now standing beside him.

"Y-you mean... you want me to come with you?" she asked quietly as she stared at the floor.

"I'm sure you'll make a wonderful addition to the school." Xavier smiled. "Now, Storm, Miss Findley will be your responsibility once we get back to the school..." he trailed off, looking back at the television screen.

"Umm, how did you know my name?" Zoe's eyes widened. Had there been a news report on her brother already? Were there people after her?

"Professor, I think it's time to go." The man beside him wearing red sunglasses stated anxiously. Apparently Zoe's question had gone unnoticed.

"I think you're right" the professor replied after looking around the room once more and gesturing for Zoe to follow them.

"Well, I could do worse." She muttered under her breath as she followed them out of the building.

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**I'd just like to say thank you to anyone who has read, reviewed, followed or added this story to their favourites! (: I'll try and update more often from now on.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I've taken so long to update, I'm so busy at the moment! As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter (:**

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Zoe sat outside Professor Xavier's office, patiently waiting for him to call her in. Whilst she waited it gave her the chance to look around. She hadn't realised just how big this school was going to be. It was magnificent.

The interior was decorated with an ebony wood that lined the walls and equally elegant wooden panel flooring, which occasionally changed to a deep burgundy carpet in some rooms. Just as the flooring changed in different rooms, the walls often would too; going from the wood lining to a fresh cream paint. Zoe could easily understand why none of the students appeared to want to leave this place, she felt safe already and she'd only just arrived.

"It's cool, right?" Zoe's head snapped up to where the voice had come from. The boy with piercing blue eyes from the museum cafeteria stood awkwardly against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Yeah, it's beautiful" she smiled warmly at him. He was the first student to talk to her since the incident at the museum that same day, so she thought she should at least try to sound friendly.

"The name's Bobby" He smiled back and strode over to her, holding out a hand towards her.

"Zoe." She shook his hand lightly and began to play with the silver chain around her neck. "Although you probably already knew that."

Bobby gave a slight chuckle and sat down on the chair beside her.

"So, I guess you must be waiting to see Professor Xavier. You know he's talking to John in there, right? It may take a while after that stunt he pulled today" Bobby sighed at the thought of his friend being in more trouble. He really needed to learn how to control his anger.

"John? That's the uh... flame-boy right?" Zoe asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, that's the one" Bobby said, laughing at her description of him.

Just as Bobby replied, John stormed out of the office and stopped in his tracks as Professor Xavier called after him.

"John, could you tell Zoe to come in now, please." He heard the professor call from the office. He looked down at the girl sitting before him and backed up towards the office door, holding it open for her.

"Well, you heard him" John huffed impatiently as Zoe grabbed her things and scrambled to her feet. She gave Bobby a small smile and moved past John quickly as to not irritate him any more.

"Thanks" Zoe mumbled and sat down in one of the chairs placed directly in front of the professors' desk.

"It was my pleasure, really" John rolled his eyes and walked off down the corridor, leaving the door to slam shut behind him.

"I can promise you that not all of the students here behave quite like Mr. Allerdyce." The professor sighed, smiling at the dark-haired girl now sitting before him. She smiled back politely and gave a light chuckle.

"Just remind me not to get on his bad side" Zoe replied jokingly, earning a small laugh from the professor.

"Now, Zoe. I'm sure you understand why I wanted to have this meeting with you" Professor Xavier started and Zoe nodded for him to go on. "Since you are enrolling as a new student here it is vital that I know more about you. About your past and what led you here. Your abilities and just how powerful you are. Of course, if you don't feel comfortable talking about this... I can always read your thoughts; if you'd allow me."

Zoe pulled the sleeves of her leather jacket over her hands and bit at the inside of her cheek. Being safe had to come at some cost, and that was letting this man in on her darkest secret. Something she'd only carried with her for the past 24 hours, but also a gruesome nightmare that she knew would burden her for the rest of her miserable life. Although she'd rather not have told him about what happened that night, she guessed he'd already have some sort of idea due to what he'd said at the science museum earlier that day.

_"I know. I also know why you're here and I want you to understand that I can help. We can help."_

"M-My brother... I, uh..." Zoe huffed and bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears now forming in her deep brown eyes. She quickly wiped her eyes and took in a deep breath. "I killed my brother. It was an accident though, I swear! Not that it makes any difference, I still did it. I didn't even stay with him or accept any punishment, I just ran. I only thought about myself." She trailed off and furrowed her brow, staring at the desk intently.

"It's okay. You're not the first I have heard something like this from. Other students are in similar situations; they have similar pasts to you, Zoe." The professor spoke softly causing her to look up at him. "Did your family know about your abilities?"

"Yeah, my uh- my mom, the day she found out about me she started to act differently, like she was scared of me. My dad though, he uh, he was more... angry. He hated me, and I could tell. I was 14 when I found out I was telekinetic. It was summer and I was playing in the yard with Ethan, my brother, and I... I'd just rather not talk about it actually right now, or... think about it" She ran a hand through her brunette hair, her hand lingering at the newly bleached streak.

"I understand. Well, from the information you have given me I am able to assess you as a student, although at some point we will require you to undergo a test of sorts on your abilities. It'll allow us to determine just how much power you hold." The professor spoke sternly, but with a certain kindness to his voice. She knew that she was making this more difficult than necessary and that eventually she would have to tell him more. For now she was just happy to be accepted into the school.

"Thank you, professor. For everything; I promise you won't regret this" Zoe said quietly. She was incredibly grateful that he'd taken her in and she was still able to live a reasonably normal life. Or at least try to.

The professor smiled back at her and pulled out a folder. He opened it carefully and removed a key as well as some paper work that he handed to Zoe.

"Now, usually I'd leave it to your personal tutor to give you your dorm key, class schedule, maps and so on, but in this case I felt happy to do it. I know you're going to be a good student here, Zoe. I also know you'll need to be supported during your time here, and I am willing to offer that support as well as Storm, who will be your personal tutor this year. Speaking of which" Just as Professor Xavier finished his sentence the office door opened and a beautiful dark skinned woman with dazzling white hair walked in, a warm smile on her face.

"Professor" the woman greeted, standing by the open door.

"Storm, here is our newest student" Professor Xavier formally introduced them. "Zoe, Storm will be your tutor this year, and I believe she is here to take you on a tour of the mansion."

"Hey, nice to meet you" Storm smiled and shook Zoe's pale hand.

"Hey, you too" Zoe replied, smiling back.

"Well, we're going to get going, see you later professor." Storm waited for Zoe to leave the room and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

_Later, Storm. For now just get her settled in. _

Professor X's voice echoed in Storm's mind as she nodded and followed Zoe out of the office.

* * *

"...and this is your room" Storm gestured to the door they had just stopped in front of.

After the tour of the whole mansion Zoe was keen to get dressed into her pyjamas and sleep through the night, hopefully undisturbed by any nightmares that should plague her thoughts. It was a huge school and she had been through a lot.

"Thanks for the tour and I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow" Zoe said, checking her class schedule which she held out in front of her.

"No problem at all. And the professor has decided that it's probably best for you take the day off tomorrow; get some rest so you can jump straight into classes." Storm tilted her head to the side slightly, showing concern for the quiet girl before her.

Zoe nodded and pulled out the key professor Xavier had given to her. She unlocked the door and pushed it open, revealing an average sized room containing a single bed, wardrobe, full-length mirror, bedside table and a chest of drawers.

"You're going to fit in here just fine, Zoe. You'll get used to everything, I promise." Storm reassured her as she walked back down the corridor.

Zoe smiled and entered her room, shutting the door behind her. She slung her duffle bag on the floor, happy to be rid of it after carrying it on her shoulder for so long. Her leather jacket dropped next to it and she clambered onto the bed, moving under the clean white sheets after kicking her shoes off.

Her original plan had been to shower and get something to eat before settling down in her pyjamas and going to sleep, but upon reaching the bed any remaining energy left inside of her seemed to dissipate into nothing and she immediately fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

_She was running; running as fast as she could to get away from the terrifying scene behind her._

_She looked back to determine just how far she'd come and tripped on what must have been an overgrown tree trunk, slamming into the hard earth. She picked herself up quickly and in her haste grazed the bare skin on her knees. _

_"Hurry! C'mon they're closing in on us!" A familiar male voice yelled from just ahead of her._

_She looked up to see a startling white light that caused her to squint and shield her eyes as she continued to run in the direction of the voice._

_Almost at once she stopped running as a heavy mist surrounded her and she called out for the male she'd heard earlier._

_"Hello? Anyone? Where am I?! Help!"_

_A large hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her to the ground so they were level with the tall grass of the field she had found herself in._

_"Found you" A deep chilling voice muttered in her ear, its breath tickling her neck._

_She drew a breath in and slowly turned to face the voice only to find the mangled body of her brother lying on the floor, one hand grasping her wrist still._

Zoe sat bolt upright and screamed, thudding onto the floor and pushing herself away from the bed until she was crammed into a corner.

Her breathing was deep and shaky as she lifted one trembling hand to wipe the sweat that soaked her pale face.

"It was just a dream... just another nightmare. It wasn't real. Get up. _Get up."_ Zoe whispered, trying to convince herself to stand.

She extended her legs slowly and moved to a standing position, finding that her legs had become too weak to carry her and abruptly falling back to the floor.

Zoe hissed in pain as her knees scraped lightly against the carpet and she looked down to find them both scratched up and covered in... _Dirt?_

She stood quickly, ignoring the pain from her knees and grabbing for the handle of the door that was opposite the foot of the bed. She hadn't noticed it when she walked in that night and just blamed it on exhaustion.

She opened the door to find a small bathroom complete with a shower, sink and a toilet. Zoe moved toward the shower and stripped out of her dress and underwear.

She blasted the water on full heat and stepped underneath the boiling spray, scrubbing at her knees and silently crying as the memories of the nightmare flooded her mind.

After what seemed like hours of huddling in one of the corners of the shower and letting the hot spray hit her shaking body, Zoe pulled herself out of her trance-like state and reached for the towel hanging on the wall. She wrapped it around her body and walked slowly back into her room, sitting down on her once sweat soaked bed.

She brought her knees up to her chest to check them over in the moon light and saw clean unbroken skin that was bright pink from where she'd scrubbed so hard in the boiling hot water.

_What? No. They were right here, I swear! There was blood... dirt, everywhere! _ She thought, hurriedly standing up and walking over to the mirror. There in the reflection stood a dripping wet, but thoroughly clean Zoe. No blood, no dirt.

"I-I... I don't understand!" Zoe cupped a hand over her trembling mouth as salty tears slid down her cheeks. She wasn't okay, not even a little bit.

The professor said he and Storm would both be available to talk to whenever she felt she needed support so she put it at the top of her to do list that she'd speak to either one of the two in the morning.

Zoe glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table, illuminating the dark room. The numbers 3:13 shone brightly and she ran a hand through her tangled mess of hair.

"Guess I could at least get dressed since I've got nothing better to do for the next, oh, 5 hours" Zoe grumbled as she pulled on her underwear, bra, a black pair of tights and a short burgundy, long sleeved dress.

She stumbled sleepily over to her wardrobe and put away the remaining clothes from her duffle bag. She may have been tired, but nothing was going to persuade her to fall back into the dark nightmare she had previously awoken from. Had it been possible, Zoe would've gladly stayed awake for the rest of her life if it meant not having anymore nightmares.

She paced over to the windowsill, the curtains still drawn back. A full moon shone in the dark night sky and reflected off her light porcelain skin. Zoe sat on the large windowsill and stared out into the moonlit courtyard in front of the school.

_Better get comfortable, I'm here 'till sunrise. _She thought quietly as she rested her head against the pane behind her and breathed a sigh of relief; happy at the thought of escaping anymore sleep tonight.

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**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed and added this story to their favourites, it keeps me writing! :D I know there isn't much action at the moment, especially involving John & Zoe, but I'm just getting started, it'll get more interesting I promise! Also, I have an announcement to make! Since I am moving in 2 weeks and have done absolutely no packing whatsoever, chances are I'm not going to be updating until after I have moved ): Also it's both mine & my sister's birthdays this week and I need to go and say goodbye to all of my friends and family (I'm moving really far away). So I'm not going to have any time to write, I'm sorry! I will update as soon as possible and I'll try not to keep you waiting too long! Thanks guys (:**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, guys! I am so sorry for how long you have had to wait for this chapter. I've just been so busy with birthdays and moving away and now a medical thing has come up which I'm not sure how to deal with, and ugh. Just ****_ugh. _****Anyway, I start a new college tomorrow so I'll try my hardest to update as much as possible when I can. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Silence filled the halls as Zoe slipped out of her room and dawdled quietly around the school. It was only 6am, but she couldn't bear to spend any more time in that room. Besides, she needed something to take her mind off the events from last night. Images of the nightmare still swam around her head, threatening to bring more tears to her eyes.

She slipped into the huge kitchen and began to make herself a bowl of cereal only realising now just how hungry she was.

Zoe thought back to the tour Storm had given her when she arrived at the school. She didn't have anything better to do and decided that once she'd finished her breakfast she'd head down to the library.

The library back home had been one of her favourite places to go. Most of the time it'd been her place to escape to when she'd been arguing with her parents. Eventually her brother would come looking for her and bring her back home in time for dinner.

Her brother...

She missed him. He was the only one who understood and accepted her for who she was- _what _she was. Nothing could ever make her forgive herself for what she'd done to him. It was all down to pure stupidity on her part; a complete overreaction to a situation that could've been handled a lot better. It was her own fault; she let her emotions control her, so when he scared her like that there was nothing she could do.

_Don't fool yourself. Of course there was something you could do. You just wanted him to die, you were always so jealous of him._

Her mother's voice sounded in her mind causing Zoe to inhale sharply and jump off the barstool she'd been sitting on.

If these were the sort of tricks her mind was going to play when she let it wander then she was in desperate need of something to distract herself with, so she hurriedly exited the kitchen and made her way to the library, hoping to lose herself in a book.

* * *

John wandered along the corridors silently, flicking his lighter and paying no attention whatsoever to the conversation currently occurring between Bobby and Rogue. He didn't care much for their ridiculous banter or lovey-dovey talk.

"John... John. You there, dude?" John was pulled from his thoughts by Bobby waving a hand in front of his face.

"Where else would I be?" He asked rhetorically as he swiped away Bobby's hand.

Bobby let out a small laugh at his friend who just glared at him in response.

"We should probably hurry up and get to class. The professor's gonna kill us if we're late again." Rogue sighed as she looked up to notice Bobby staring at the new girl across the hall.

"Do you think we should go say hi to her?" he asked, concern filling his deep blue eyes. The girl had seemed nice enough yesterday when he'd introduced himself and she looked pretty lonely, all by herself walking down the corridor clutching a book to her chest.

"I don't see why we should. We never do when there's a new student, what makes her so different?" John said nonchalantly, looking up from his zippo.

"I think Bobby's right. I've never seen someone look so lonely... And you two were nice enough to introduce yourselves to me when I started. C'mon, John, Bobby spoke to her yesterday so it won't be weird or anythin'." Rogue didn't wait for a response as her and Bobby walked straight over to the dark haired girl now looking up from the floor to see the two students making their way towards her.

John groaned as he trailed along behind them and began flicking at his lighter again.

"Hey, Zoe, how're you doing?" Bobby smiled, hoping to make her feel more comfortable.

"Hey, umm, I-uh... I'm good thanks. I haven't got any classes, so I..." Zoe trailed off gesturing to the book in her hands.

"Greek mythology, huh? You interested in that kinda stuff?" Rogue spoke up and tilted her head slightly to read the book's title.

"Yeah, always have been. I-"

"Well would ya look at that! We match!" Rogue interrupted as she lifted the white streak running down the front of her hair and pointed at Zoe's bleach blonde one.

"Oh, yeah. Cool" Zoe smiled as a faint blush spread across her pale cheeks.

John coughed loudly, drawing the attention of the other three teens towards him. He raised his brow slightly in Bobby's direction causing him to speak up.

"Oh of course, Zoe, this is my girlfriend, Rogue." He put an arm round the small southern girl's shoulders as she smiled and then continued "and this is John."

John tilted his head and his eyes travelled slowly down her body to her feet and then back up again. She was tall and slim, her short dress showing off her long legs- John wondered what they looked like without the tights covering them. As his eyes moved up to her face he noticed the dark circles underneath her eyes. She caught his stare momentarily and he smirked, causing the light pink blush to turn into a deep shade of red as she dropped her eyes to the floor.

Rogue noticed the exchange between the two and sighed heavily. John had only just met this girl and he was already putting the moves on her. The poor girl looked like she'd already been through enough.

"So, we should get to class. We'll see ya later?" Rogue gave a quick glare at John before looking back at Zoe and smiling sweetly.

"Sure... see you around" Zoe smiled back at her and Bobby before allowing herself to glance at John who was still smirking in her direction.

"Later, Zoe" he grinned as he turned to walk to class with his friends. Rogue elbowed him and he looked down at her innocently. "What? I was just being polite."

"John Allerdyce I know when you are flirtin' and you were flirtin'. Now I don't know what kinda plan you got in mind for that girl but I am warnin' you- you better not act on it." Rogue spoke sternly knowing exactly what it was that John had in mind for Zoe. It was exactly what he'd done to various other girls before. It wasn't that he'd slept around a lot, but it was starting to look like he was becoming that kind of man and she wasn't going to let that happen. Sure, he might piss her off on a regular basis with his snarky comments and general disinterest for anything and everything, but he was her boyfriend's best friend. She felt like it was up to both her and Bobby to keep him from straying too much.

John rolled his eyes and tucked his lighter away in his jacket as they entered the classroom.

* * *

Zoe sighed; turning the page of the book laid out next her on the bench. She looked up at the tree she was sitting under; its branches almost completely rid of leaves and still damp from the rain earlier that day.

The grey clouds in the sky had parted slightly, letting in a little sun light that was slowly drying out the ground below.

Zoe shivered and pulled her jacket tighter around her. It was getting to be that time of year when wearing a dress was just not an option if she was planning on being outside for longer than an hour or so.

That was something that had always remained a mystery to her parents. They could never understand why she spent so much time outside, especially during the colder parts of the year. She had never completely understood it herself, she just felt more comfortable in this kind of weather and the wintery environment.

She heard a twig snap behind her and she spun around to see John leaning against a nearby tree with his hood up. He was flicking his lighter just as before and looking at her intently.

Zoe stared back at him. For some reason she felt like she had something to prove with him, like she should be acting stronger than she did with others. He certainly didn't feel like a threat, more like someone who was motivating her just by staring at her.

John smirked and walked towards her, planting himself on the bench next to her.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Zoe asked quietly after a long moment of silence. John smiled at her in response and put his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah I am, not that it matters."

"Do you always act like this?" there it was, the stronger side of her that seemed to be determined to make herself seem more confident than she was.

"Like what?" he sighed.

"Like an asshole who actually believes he's too badass to attend any lessons or take an interest in something that'll help him in the future."

John raised an eyebrow and studied her face for a moment.

"Can't say I expected that from you... Looks like someone's hiding something" he said somewhat curiously and winked at her.

Zoe rolled her eyes and leaned back against the bench, crossing her arms, suddenly feeling all her make-believe confidence leave her.

"So, what's your name?" John asked a few moments later after he'd finally gotten bored of the silence.

"Uhh, Zoe..." She mumbled, guessing that he must not have heard her earlier... or maybe she just wasn't interesting enough to remember.

"No, your real name." He stated. Zoe looked at him confused and opened her mouth, quickly closing it again after finding she was unsure of how to respond. "Your mutant name- Your _real_ name. Like my name's Pyro, Bobby's is Iceman." John stated again getting impatient.

"Oh, I-I uh, I don't have one" she replied, her eyes drifting back towards the floor.

"Why not? Everyone has one." John crossed his arms and leaned against the bench, waiting for her answer. Just moments ago this girl had shown a confidence he had never seen in the other girls at the school and now she was back to her quiet, nervous self.

"Well, don't get me wrong I've thought about it, but I just... I never wanted one. I didn't want this to be real. I felt weak compared to these humans I was surrounded by and I-" Zoe paused, looking back up at the dark haired boy. She barely knew him; who was he to ask these kinds of questions? And why was she even considering answering them? She didn't need to explain herself to him. "You know what, it doesn't matter. I have to go."

"You're not weak. In fact you're the exact opposite." John pushed himself off the bench and strode over to her, moving in front of her so that he blocked her path. "We all are. We're better than them y'know. Humans- they're powerless against us, that's why they hate us; they're frightened." He stared straight into her eyes and Zoe found it hard to look away. She'd expected to see a mischievous glint in his eyes to give away that he was joking, but it wasn't there. Zoe frowned slightly-he really believed this. He really thought that they were better than humans... he seemed so sure of himself, he was so convincing... maybe he was right.

Zoe hated thinking these things; it made her feel sick, like she'd be punished for having an opinion. The way he was looking at her didn't help... usually making direct eye contact with someone made her feel awkward and uncomfortable, but this was different. Maybe it was because of the urgency in his voice that meant she couldn't look away.

It made it feel as though there was an understanding between the two as John nodded slightly and turned his head up towards the clouds as lightning cracked across the sky. Zoe followed his gaze and clasped her necklace in her hand.

"I really have to go, but it was nice talking to you. I guess I'll give my mutant name a thought. Bye." She picked up her book from the bench and headed towards the mansion.

"Yeah, so will I" John muttered under his breath as he watched her walk away. He couldn't help but think about how she'd responded to his rant on those... those _homo-sapiens. _

_Stop it. Just stop it, NOW! _John rubbed his palm against his forehead and inhaled deeply. He needed to stop thinking like this, it wasn't right, but the way she acted... she agreed with him, he could tell.

He shouldn't have even spoken about it to her in the first place, but she'd just wound him up so much with her talk on being weak and it had gotten to him.

_She got to me..._ John though in disbelief. _How did she do that?_

It made him nervous. There was something up with this girl, and he wasn't sure whether he liked it or not.

John's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden downpour of rain that began hitting the earth. He zipped up his jacket and jogged back to the school.

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**So I've decided to do a little shout-out kinda thing because I'm currently reading this really incredible Walking Dead fanfiction which is just amazing. It's called Note To Self: Don't Die by Alva Starr and I think that if you're a fan of the Walking Dead then you should go and read it right now because it is so good.**

**Thanks for reading!**


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